Fitbit Launches Versa Lite, The Brand’s Most Affordable SmartWatch

Fitbit Launches Versa Lite, The Brand’s Most Affordable SmartWatch

Fitbit has launched its cheapest smartwatch yet with the Versa Lite priced at US$ 160. This is a significant reduction from the $ 200 it charges for the full version of Versa. The move to reduce prices has been a strategy to maintain its position as the second largest seller of smartwatches behind market leader Apple.

The San Francisco-based company has conveyed that it will lack a few features such as the ability to store music directly on to the smartwatch. However, the company said that it will continue to track workouts and monitor heart rate.

Fitbit has also announced the new Ace 2 fitness tracker for kids. The company will also launch a paid premium service for its customers later this year. While this has been revealed by the company, it is yet to share any more details on this initiative.

In 2018, Fitbit, which is second only to Apple, sold around 5.5 million smartwatches. While Apple is leading the charts with 22.5 million units sold, Samsung has caught up with Fitbit and has sold 5.3 million units, according to data firm Strategy Analytics. However, Samsung has overtaken Fitbit on a quarterly basis in the last three months of the year 2018.

In order to capture market share, Apple and Samsung have both added features for tracking health, which has been the core focus on Fitbit smart watches. The Apple Watch included an electrocardiogram feature last year. Samsung has added a blood pressure sensor to its Galaxy Active Watch as well.

“With our newest products, we’re delivering high-quality, easy-to-use wearables that are more affordable, so getting healthy can be accessible to people of all ages and activity levels – even those who have never tried a wearable,” said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit in a statement.

Fitbit Inspire HR

Fitbit announced new versions of its cheaper trackers to garner more market share away from its rivals. The $100 Fitbit HR can track the heart rate and enable seamless tracking of fitness activities. The $70 Ace 2 can track such activities in children aged 6 years onwards.

As per Fitbit, the Fitbit Inspire and Ace 2 will be available for sale in India at Rs. 6,999 whereas the Inspire HR will come with a price tag of Rs. 8,999. The Fitbit Versa Lite will retail at a price of Rs. 15,999.

All the new Fitbit fitness devices will be available for sale beginning this month in various parts of the world including the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East and Africa. The release dates of these devices in India has yet not been announced by the company.

Fitbit Ace 2

While Apple’s fitness trackers start retailing at $279, and the Samsung watches start retailing at $200, Fitbit is trying to get its users to stick to its devices by getting them on to a fitness tracking platform which can store and share health and activity data. Chief Executive James Park said at a press event ahead of the product release that the company has nearly 28 million active users. The revenue forecast of Fitbit for the first-quarter was between $250 million and $268 million. This is lower than the analysts’ average sales expectation of $272.3 million, as per a study conducted by IBES data.